Knollwood Community Church: Burke, VA

26 June 2011 - Tzippori (Sephoris), Mount Carmel, Caesarea & Jerusalem

by Brian Conaway on June 26, 2011

Last night was our final one on the Sea of Galilee. After breakfast we had the day's devotion on the shore and then boarded the bus where our first stop was Tzippori or Sephoris - a Roman city only 4 miles from Nazareth. During Jesus' time it was being expanded and upgraded by Herod Antipas who was the Jewish leader the Romans allowed to govern over Jewish matters in the Galilee region. We know Herod Antipas as the weasel (Jesus called him a 'fox' meaning worthless individual) that married his brother Phillip's wife and had John the Baptist imprisoned and beheaded. It is very possible that Jesus and His father Joseph - both tektons (stone masons) - worked with many others on the major construction projects Antipas commissioned at the site. We learned that Antipas ran out of money while having some towers built and was eventually crushed by an opposing army because he underestimated its numerical strength (sound like a couple of examples Jesus used in a parable you may know?). We then continued our push to the West and the Mediterranean Sea stopping at Mount Carmel overlooking the Jezreel Valley. Most of you are familiar with the story of Elijah and the prophets of baal that took place at Carmel. We learned about the building blocks of true discipleship (community, Text, a passion to be just like Rabbi Jesus). We then made it to the coast and stopped at Caesarea which was one of Herod the Great's crowning architectual accomplishments - an oppulent port city built OUT into the sea since there is really no natural harbor in Israel along the Med. coast. It really is incredible to see the remnants of this city that played an important role in spreading the Gospel and building the early church. Let me encourage you to do some additional research on Caesarea. Finally, we pushed down into Jerusalem located at approx. 2600' above sea level. We checked into our hotel, had dinner, and then spent some time in the old city walking around and enjoying the sights and a cup of coffee at an Aroma (Israeli Starbucks) coffe shop. Tomorrow will be spent orienting ourselves to Jerusalem. We will also visit Herodium (another Herod the Great building achievement worth 'googling') after passing over into Palestinian controlled Bethlehem. It is hard to believe we only have a few more days in Israel. We'll make the most of it. Stan Harris took the night off so there are no new pictures to view. Hopefully he will post some tomorrow evening. Larry and Billie and Stan are experiencing and marveling at walking in the land of the Bible. I know they look forward to sharing their experiences with you when they get back. Shalom.